The congressman returned to the theme later in his speech, saying he had no worries about a foreign government attacking the United States.

“There is nobody that even comes close to thinking about touching us,” he said. “We have the weaponry. We have the troops. We can defend our country.”

As Paul has climbed in the polls in recent weeks, rivals have stepped up attacks, especially on his noninterventionist foreign policy views.

Paul said U.S. military involvement in conflicts overseas has expanded the national debt by $4 trillion over the past decade. The libertarian-leaning legislator has pledged to remove U.S. troops from all overseas bases, and says he would lift sanctions on all countries.

Later, during a stop in Sioux Center, he said he’d also do away with the practice of pre-emptive military attacks.

The strategy, which the U.S. used in the Iraq war, describes a situation in which one country attacks another based on the belief that hostile actions are forthcoming.

“A pre-emptive war means that actually you start the war, and I can’t ever conceive of that,” said Paul, who also criticized the use of U.S. forces deployed in Libya.

Paul said he would OK military action in the case of an imminent attack, but would not endorse strikes designed to keep so-called hostile nations, such as Iran, in check.

Many of the other Republican candidates, including Santorum and Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, have categorized Iran as on the precipice of attaining a nuclear weapon.

However, Paul said Friday that existing U.S. and international intelligence indicates Iran is “not likely to get one.”

Even if the country was able to develop a nuclear weapon, Iran is unlikely to target the U.S. and doesn’t pose a threat to national security, he said.

“We don’t want to overreact right now,” Paul said. “I fear overreaction much more so than underreaction.”

Under a Paul presidency “friendship and trade” would be offered to “any nation that would want it,” the congressman noted during his last stop of the day in Sioux City.

OTHER THEMES: Calling out critics was the name of game for Paul during his latest swing through the state. During an in-studio interview at WHO Radio in Des Moines Thursday, the congressman talked about the incendiary newsletters published in his name. Some of the leaflets — which were printed in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s — contained racist, anti-Israel and anti-gay statements.

“It wasn’t a reflection of my views at all. … I think it was terrible,” Paul said. “It was tragic, and I had some responsibility for it, because (it) went out in my letter. But I was not an editor. I (was) like a publisher.”

THE CANDIDATE’S DAY: Paul started his day with a 1 p.m. town hall meeting that drew roughly 200 people to the Le Mars Convention Center. Another 150 people turned out at his 3 p.m. Sioux Center speech. He wrapped up his day with a 7 p.m. rally in Sioux City.

UP NEXT: Paul will be back in Texas to celebrate the new year with his family. He’ll return to the campaign trail Monday with his son, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. The pair have stops planned in Des Moines, Davenport, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls and Mason City.